


The Heart After Dawn

by mautadite



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2016-05-27
Packaged: 2018-07-10 13:22:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6986782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mautadite/pseuds/mautadite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Too late. You know the rules in my room. Talk shit, get kissed.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Heart After Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> Set post season 1. Spoilers for the finale.

Isabelle wakes up to someone drumming the national anthem on her butt.

She yawns, rolling over, feeling about with her hand. Clary’s not lying next to her anymore, so Izzy’s already got her prime suspect for the butt music. At some point during the night, she’d managed to cocoon herself up in her blankets, and so has to spend a good minute or so disentangling herself from the warmth.

“Hi,” Clary says as she does battle with the bedding. It’s more of a giggle than a word by the time Clary is done with it. “Rise and shine.”

“Hey, you,” she replies, and finally manages to get free. Warm morning light greets her, muted by her curtains, and muted even further by the smile Clary is wearing. Clary’s perched at the edge of her bed, smiling like she got a contract to put out the sun. It’s so endearing, it immediately takes the edge off of Izzy’s usual morning crankiness.

There’s the customary ache in her calves that comes from wearing heels as high as the ones last night, and a little crick in her neck. Izzy stretches a bit to work them out, and then sits up, tossing her hair over her shoulders. All of a sudden, Clary’s smile is gone, and she exchanges it for that scrunchy face of hers that usually denotes consternation. Izzy tilts her head.

“What is it?”

“You are unreal. You realise that, right?” Izzy raises her eyebrows, and Clary explains, frowning. “Neither of us remembered to take off our makeup last night. I wake up looking like a racoon that lost a fight with a dumpster, and you wake up looking like every hot member of the Greek pantheon combined. Unfair.”

Isabelle laughs, head thrown back. She grabs Clary’s hand to tug her nearer.

“Aww, you’re sweet. Remind me to take you makeup shopping with me some time. I’ll show you the good stuff.”

Clary rubs their noses together. “We _do_ owe ourselves a girls’ afternoon out.”

“Damn right.”

Her girlfriend kisses her nose for good measure, then pulls back. A mischievous little smile plays on her lips, and she’s doing the scrunchy face again.

“…Well, it’s nice to know you’re human in some ways.”

“Hm?”

“Morning breath, babe,” Clary says, laughing.

“Hey!”

Clary’s still laughing when Izzy tackles her gently to the mattress, taking the wind out of her in a few easy steps. It’s quick work for Izzy to straddle her, fighting hard to keep her playful frown in place when all she wants to do is smile back. They’re rarer than most people might think, Izzy’s true smiles, but around Clary, they’re always popping up like daffodils in the spring.

“I surrender!” Clary is gasping, hazel eyes alight as Izzy crouches above her. 

“Too late. You know the rules in my room. Talk shit, get kissed.”

Playful protests are still falling off Clary’s lips when Izzy kisses her, deep and warm and slow. Seconds later, Izzy feels an arm come up around her neck, and Clary is kissing her back, morning breath and all.

They make out for what is probably an irresponsible amount of time, considering who they are and what’s going on in their world and the sundry things they have to accomplish, but those all seem very much like ‘thirty minutes from now’ kinds of problems to Isabelle. Clary brings warmth with her, the taste of coffee and toast, and Izzy just wants to wrap herself up in it all. Cupping Clary’s face in her hands, she kisses her in the way she likes best; lazy, like they’ve got all the time in the world to start something, even if they won’t. The very definition of an early morning kiss.

It had been a long night, though not without its perks. The mission had taken them to one of the seedier downworlder clubs. Izzy had lent Clary a little green number that made her look like an alseid in perfect bloom, while Izzy’d slipped into her strappiest shoes and slinkiest dress. Someone had screwed up on the intel, and their target ended up being several hours late, so Isabelle had turned the charm up to eleven and coaxed her girl to the dancefloor (“We have to blend in!”). Jace flirted with seelie girls, Alec watched the perimeter and texted Magnus, and Izzy and Clary danced for ages. 

They almost ended up regretting all that dancing, hours later when they were chasing the rogue shadowhunter across rooftops and up fire escapes, but in the end, they’d gotten their man. It had been a short trip back to the Institute. Robert and Maryse took over after they’d gotten their prisoner into a cell, and given their preliminary report.

There’s more to be done yet, and most of it will have to be done today, but for now, Isabelle just wants to lose herself in the contentedness of the moment.

Clary’s kisses break away from her mouth and travel across her jaw, to the ticklish region around her ear, and then down to her neck. Soon enough, they’re lying side by side on the bed, arms around waists, Clary nuzzling absently at the rune on Izzy’s collarbone. She’s still wearing last night’s dress, which leaves a fair portion of said collarbone bare. One of Clary’s hands moves up to the space between her breasts, resting lightly there as she continues to trace butterfly kisses around the angelic runes.

Izzy props her chin on her palm, looking pointedly at Clary’s hand.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“I’m trying to feel your heartbeat,” comes the reply, muffled against her skin. Clary’s lips have moved across to the visibility rune, but her hand remains, nestled between Izzy’s cleavage. Izzy smiles.

“I see. Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.”

“Okay. Because, I mean, it _looks_ like you’re copping a feel.”

Clary keeps kissing. “Wow. Way to ruin the romance, Lightwood.” Between her words, she manages to sneak in a quick boob-grab while maintaining a completely straight face. Izzy laughs, feeling more light-hearted than she can remember being in forever. She finds a mirror of her expression in Clary’s smile, and it’s automatic, how they lean in to one another to fit their lips together again.

It’s a long, pleasant minute before they pull away once more. Clary stretches, arms over her head and toes pointed, and Izzy leans on her elbow again to look at her. 

“You’re in a really good mood today.” All observation, no question. If there’s such a thing as an expert at bouncing back, then Clary is it; she doesn’t let anything faze her for more than a few minutes, she doesn’t know the meaning of giving up, and there’s always something like hope adding extra shine (and extra stubbornness) to her eyes. And this morning, it all seems magnified, brighter than ever. 

Clary grins. “I guess I am.”

“That all me?” Izzy asks, using a finger to nudge Clary’s curls off of her forehead, out of her eyes. Clary captures the finger and kisses it, then wrinkles her little nose.

“It’s a lot of you. And just… everything.” She’s still holding Izzy’s hand, and brings it down to press against her chest, smack dab in the midst of her protection rune. “We’ve got Jace and the Cup back. As of last night, we’re at least two steps ahead of Valentine. I spent a half an hour this morning cuddling you and texting my mom. Simon’s started using little fangs in his smileys. Alec _grinned_ at me yesterday. Twice!” 

At this, Izzy tips back her head and laughs, thinking fondly of her brother. 

“It was probably just gas,” she teases.

“Maybe,” Clary says with a giggle. “But if life is giving me so many reasons to be happy, I’m gonna take them all while I can. I’d say I deserve it.”

“You _do_ ,” Izzy says with feeling. “More than anyone I know.”

After that, it just takes a tender look and a little touch before they’re kissing again. Isabelle feels dizzy and punch-drunk, as if all the happiness that Clary is radiating is an intoxicant. Isabelle always feels a little like this, at the beginning of all her relationships, but she and Clary also have the comfortable weight of months of friendship between them. It all smacks of the lasting, heady, rule-defying love of fairy tales. Feeling like that makes a heart grow full.

And Izzy’s… Izzy’s is likely to overflow.

Clary is rapping on her butt again.

“We _do_ have to get up, though,” she murmurs apologetically. “Those Clave reps are gonna be here too. We’ve got…” She stretches across to squint at her phone. “…less than an hour before they’re ready for us.”

“Mhmm. I’ve got my responsible adult outfit all pressed and laid out.”

“Guh. I shouldn’t let you hold me back like this. God knows you’ll be ready, better dressed and better looking than me in half the time.”

Izzy shakes her head, tossing her hair out of her eyes. She puts on her best flirty look. 

“Better dressed? Sure. More beautiful? Highly doubtful.”

Clary shoves at her gently, and squirms out of bed, cheeks going all pink. “You could charm a vampire into sunbathing, couldn’t you?”

“I’ve got my ways.”

“Okay Casanova.” She’s still blushing as she makes her way over to the adjoining bathroom. “Get your cute butt up, we—”

“I know, I know.” Izzy affords herself one last luxurious, bone-cracking stretch, then swings her legs over the side of the bed. “We’ve got a date with duty.”

“Right. But before that, you’ve got a slightly more pressing date with your toothbrush.” And Clary sticks her tongue out impishly.

Izzy chuckles. She doesn’t move at the speed that she’s capable of, and Clary can see her coming and definitely has the agility to move out of the way. Despite all that, Izzy still has her grinning girlfriend pinned up against the wall next to the bathroom in under three seconds. Her eyes are full of mischief and mirth that want to burst at the seams.

“You never learn, Clary Fray,” Izzy says, and tilts her chin forward to kiss that smiling mouth.


End file.
